MAIN CHARACTERS
This main narrator is an average seventh-grader who finds the wallet on a middle school field trip.
Who is Felix Rannells?
To win the ultimate prize, Felix and Benji must spend this exact amount of money in 30 days.
What is $5,000,000 (5 million dollars)?
The boys find Laura Friendly's wallet during a field trip to this location.
What is New York City (or the Metropolitan Museum of Art / Central Park)?
The boys initially find Laura Friendly’s wallet because Benji uses her credit card to buy this food item.
What is a hot dog (or lunch from a food cart)?
U.S. paper currency isn't actually made out of paper- it is made from a blend of these two natural materials.
What are cotton and linen?
This wealthy classmate joins Felix in accepting the spending challenge.
Who is Benji Porter?
If the boys complete the spending challenge successfully, they will earn this final grand prize to split or share.
What is $50,000,000 (50 million dollars)?
Felix uses part of his spending money to pay for a private flight on one of these to travel.
What is a private jet or helicopter?
To keep track of their spending and ensure they follow every rule, the boys must log all their receipts in this specific item.
What is a binder (or spending log/ledger)?
Due to the rising cost of metals, it actually costs the U.S. government more than two cents to produce this single one-cent coin.
What is the penny?
This tech billionaire sets up the spending challenge for the boys after they find his lost wallet.
Who is Laura Friendly?
One of the main rules of the challenge states that the boys cannot buy these for themselves to keep after the month ends.
What are real estate, cars, or permanent assets (they can't own long-term property)?
The boys rent out an entire one of these venues just to play video games on a giant screen.
What is a movie theater?
Benji and Felix hire this type of professional to help them manage their busy schedules and logistics during the 30 days.
What is a personal assistant?
Long before paper money or metal coins, ancient civilizations in Central America used these edible beans as currency.
What are cocoa beans?
Felix's sister has this specific physical disability, which plays a major role in Felix's motivations throughout the book.
What is hemiplegia (or cerebral palsy affecting one side of her body)?
The boys are forbidden from doing this with their money to get rid of it quickly.
What is giving it away directly, donating it all, or destroying it?
A major portion of their budget goes toward funding a specialized app created for this purpose.
What is helping people with disabilities / accessibility?
The boys face a major crisis when they realize this type of unexpected financial gain might ruin their spending total.
What is earning interest / investment returns (or making money back)?
Famous founding father Benjamin Franklin purposely misspelled words on early U.S. currency for this clever reason.
What is to catch counterfeiters(fake money)?
This lawyer acts as the boys' official chaperone and monitor during their 30-day challenge.
Who is Ms. Kurosawa?
Before the main challenge begins, the boys must first decide whether to take $20,000 to keep immediately OR take this starting amount for the month-long spending task.
What is $5,000,000?
Benji tries to burn through money fast by paying a massive tip to a server at this kind of establishment.
What is a restaurant / diner?
At the end of the 30 days, the boys learn that Laura Friendly's true secret motivation for the challenge was to teach them this lesson about wealth.
What is that money doesn't buy happiness/friendship (or how hard it is to spend money thoughtfully)?
The largest number dollar bill amount ever printed by the U.S. government featured President Woodrow Wilson and was worth this staggering amount.
What is $100,000?